Digital distractions as a development issue affecting student attention in Technology-Integrated Senior High School Classrooms

The rapid growth of digital technologies in the senior high school classroom creates unique development-related challenges, especially digital distractions that can interrupt students’ attention. This study is situated in the concept of Development Education, and it investigates the ways that digital distractions in technology-integrated learning environments predict student attention in Grade 11 students at San Remigio National High School. Using a quantitative descriptive–correlational research design, data were gathered from fifteen purposively selected respondents using a researcher-developed questionnaire that measured digital distractions (social media use, messaging applications, online gaming and entertainment, and non-academic internet browsing) and student attention (sustained attention, selective attention, and attentional control). The descriptive statistics and inferential analysis are used to analyze and interpret the data. Results suggested that students report little time spent on overt non-academic digital activity in class, whereas passive distractors such as notifications and entertainment-related content were believed to negatively affect attention. Results also suggested that sustained attention and attentional control were moderate, but selective attention was low in technology-rich classrooms. Digital distractions were statistically significantly associated with student attention and were found to be significant by use of statistical means, proving that digital distractions can predict attention levels of students. These results reinforce the notion that digital distractions represent not only a behavioral problem of the individual but also a systemic developmental problem for a class, influenced by class settings, school policies, and their self-regulation. This study highlights the development-sensitive interventions, such as developing policies on responsible technology use, optimizing instructional design, and promoting digital self-regulation to enable the integration of technology to positively affect, rather than impede the learning process in a school’s senior high system.